Nicole Boyd wanted to celebrate her birthday last May in a safe, socially distanced way. She reached out to a few friends, including Narshara Tucker, and they hiked the Crabtree Falls Trail in Nelson County. Noticing a distinct lack of diversity on the trail, Boyd and Tucker decided to start Black Girls Hike RVA.
They began by inviting friends to hike with them, then began using social media to expand participation. “Social media connected us with so many different people that we were able to start a website and bring in donations,” Tucker says.
Boyd says the goal was to “create a space where women of color, Black women specifically, are comfortable going out.” Boyd’s passion for hiking started in her childhood, but Tucker only began hiking when Black Girls Hike RVA was founded.
The group hikes about twice a month on trails that vary from beginner to expert in difficulty. Hikes in the Richmond area usually attract 20 attendees, while travel hikes generally have five or six participants. The groups are diverse in age and experience; the first hike in mid-June included a 17-year-old and her 75-year-old grandmother.
Boyd and Tucker, both educators, want to expand Black Girls Hike RVA by connecting with youth. “We want to get kids out hiking,” Boyd says. Tucker, who was initially reluctant to join Boyd’s birthday hike, has grown to love the activity because it gives her the chance to “get outside, be active, take a moment and just take in nature.” She contacts park rangers to find new trails to explore.
Boyd hopes the group “continues to get women of color out and more comfortable, but also influence the next generation,” she says.
Black Girls Hike RVA participants Treena Bonner and Sadeqa Johnson emphasize the sisterhood created by the hiking group. “I was all in after my first hike,” Johnson says, because it had a “spirit of togetherness and sisterhood that I loved, but also that connection to nature.” Bonner agrees, adding that the group “gives us a chance to come together and talk about our personal experiences” as Black women.
To find out more about Black Girls Hike RVA, check out their website or find them on Instagram and Facebook.
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